973-.7L-3 


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A  Wondarful  Hour  with  A.b. 
rahan  Lincoln 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


A 


Wonderful  Hour 

With 

Abraham  Lincoln 


By  Lewis  Gardnen 


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A  Wonderful  Hour  With  Abraham  Lincoln 


The  very  earliest  recollection  I  have  of  anything  is  intimately  associated  with 
the  Civil  War. 

Well  do  I  remember,  although  but  4  years  old,  when  all  that  was  mortal  of  a 
bright,  manly  boy  was  brought  back  to  our  little  Ohio  village  and  laid  away  in 
the  churchyard.  He  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  South  Mountain.  The  first 
soldier  from  Logan  County  to  lose  his  life  in  battle.  This  lad  was  my  favorite 
uncle,  and  his  death  and  burial  made  so  deep  an  impression  upon  my  childish 
mind  that  from  then  on  I  became  interested  in  everything  pertaining  to  the 
conflict. 

Soon  after  the  incident  mentioned  above,  my  father  became  a  government 
official.     We  removed  to  Washington  and  resided  there  from  1862  to  1866. 

Father  was  chief  of  one  of  the  many  bureaus  of  the  Treasury  Department. 
All  the  clerks  and  higher  ofiicials  of  the  department  were  organized  into  military 
companies,  known  collectively  as  "The  Treasury  Guards."  They  were  inten- 
sively drilled  by  officers  of  the  regular  army,  and  as  well  equipped  as  the  soldiers 
in  the  field,  except  that  they  were  not  uniformed.  They  represented  a  potential 
army  of  more  than  1,000  men. 

Their  military  duties  were  to  be,  in  case  of  an  emergency,  to  protect  the 
Treasury  Department  and  the  Executive  Mansion,  near  by. 

Father  was  made  captain  of  one  of  these  companies,  and  to  his  command  was 
^  assigned  the  protection  of  the  White  House,  and  the  President.  Upon  that  fact 
^  rests  my  story. 

«:  The  men  drilled  every   day,   after  working  hours,  and  prepared  themselves 

^  for  real  military  duty  if  the  occasion  required. 

^  Although  but  a  youngster  in  kilts,  so  interested  was  I  in  all  the  military  doings 

of  the  Capital,  and  especially  in  the  work  of  the  Treasury  Guards,  that  I  pre- 

-^  vailed  upon  mother  to  take  me  up  to  father's  office  in  the  Treasury  Department 

U\  almost  daily.     We  boarded  not  far  away.     It  was   on   Pennsylvania   Avenue, 

about  half  way  between  the  Treasury  Department  and  the  Capitol — the  house 

still  stands. 

The  daily  military  drills  of  the  Treasury  Guards  took  place  on  the  White 
House  lawn,  south  of  the  Mansion.  The  President  was  a  frequent  spectator, 
sometimes  mingling  with  "  the  boys,"  but  more  frequently  viewing  the  maneu- 
vers from  the  White  House  window,  or  from  the  portico.  On  one  occasion, 
when  the  President  was  nearby  on  the  lawn.  Captain  Reynolds  was  putting  his 
men  through  Hardee's  tactics  for  the  first  time  without  the  aid  of  a  regular 
army  drillmaster,  and  wished,  of  course,  to  make  a  good  impression  upon  his 
Commander-in-Chief.  The  Company  was  marching  south,  in  platoons.  There 
was,  then,  a  terrace  running  east  and  west  through  the  White  House  grounds, 
with  a  drop  of  about  2  feet.  The  captain,  as  his  men  approached  this  terrace, 
became  completely  rattled.  He  could  not  think  of  the  proper  command  that 
would  wheel  them  about,  or  otherwise  avoid  the  obstacle ;  could  not  even  say 
"Halt !"  so  down  the  embankment  they  went,  but  in  such  good  order  that  many 
of  the  spectators,  including  the  President,  thought  it  a  part  of  the  drill. 

I  saw  President  Lincoln  scores  and  scores  of  times,  as  father's  duties  took 
him  frequently  to  the  Executive  Mansion,  and  he  often  took  me  with  him. 

The  President's  private  office  at  that  tmie,  and  continuously  until  Theodore 
Roosevelt's  administration,  was  on  the  second  floor  of  the  White  House  proper. 
On  the  occasion  I  have  in  mind,  father  was  to  have  a  special  conference  with 
his  Commander-in-Chief,  and  I  accompanied  him.  This  was  in  the  summer  of 
1864.  While  they  were  discussing  the  matter  of  the  conference,  which  lasted 
nearly  an  hour,  the  President  picked  me  up,  set  me  on  his  knee,  and  I  can  feel 
yet  the  gentle  stroke  of  that  big,  firm  hand,  as  he  stroked  my  head,  like  the  halo 
of  a  great  benediction.  I  almost  remember  his  voice.  I  would  describe  it  as  a 
rich,  round  voice,  full  of  tenderness  and  pathos.  His  outdoor  speaking  voice  has 
been  described  as  a  "  high-pitched"  tenor,  but  his  ordinary  "  talking  voice"  was 
quite  different.  Toward  the  end  of  the  conference,  Mr.  Lincoln  carried  me  to 
one  of  the  large  windows  overlooking  the  Potomac  River,  rested  me  on  the  deep 
window  seat  and  stood  there  with  one  arm  about  me  while  pointing  out  to  the 
Captain  some  points  of  vantage  he  wished  him  to  be  familiar  with. 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  8UiNOI9 


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6K...^o^ 


^^     If:    ■ 

r  s. 

^^ \~  The  Treasury  Guards  were  never  called  upon  for  real  military  action.     Only 

/y^  twice,  I  believe,  was  the  Capitol  threatened  with  attack  when  not  guarded  by 

^  the  regular  troops.     On  those  two  occasions,  the  Treasury   Guards   "  slept  on 

their  arms,"  in  the  building,  ready  for  instant  action. 

Father  and  mother  were  at  Ford's'  Theater  the  night  of  the  assassination, 
and  although  it  was  late  when  they  returned  home,  the  general  excitement  of  the 
night  had  reached  our  neighborhood.  The  newsboys'  shrill  cries  of  "  Extra ! 
Extra !  President  Lincoln  Shot,"  had  awakened  everybody  in  the  boarding 
house.  I,  too,  was  awake.  Young  as  I  was,  I  realized  what  a  dreadful  thing 
had  happened,  and  I  lay  wide-eyed  in  my  little  trundle  bed  while  father  and 
mother  related  to  the  others  their  personal  story  of  the  tragedy. 

Father,  accompanied  by  several  of  the  men  guests,  went  back  to  the  scene 
and  did  not  return  until  after  the  fateful  hour  of  7  :22  the  next  morning. 

I  remember  as  clearly  as  though  it  were  of  yesterday,  wearing  a  wide  band 
of  black  around  the  sleeve  of  my  bright  plaid  jacket,  and  carried  in  father's 
arms,  of  passing  the  somber  catafalque  in  the  rotunda  of  the  Capitol,  which 
inclosed  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  beloved  Lincoln. 

A  few  weeks  later  I  witnessed  the  Grand  Review  of  the  Army — that  wonder- 
ful spectacle  of  the  returning  boys  in  blue — which  took  several  days  in  its 
passing. 

Let  us  rejoice  that  Lincoln  lived  until  the  end  was  known — until  the  name  of 
Lincoln  and  Liberty  were  united  forever.  He  lived  until  there  was  nothing  for 
him  to  do  so  great  as  he  had  done.  The  Iwing  world  had  no  niche  large  enough 
to  hold  him — there  was  nothing  left  but  death  and  immortal  fame. 

Marvelous  man !  Wonderful  character !  Strange  mingling  of  mirth  and 
tears,  of  humor  and  pathos,  of  comedy  and  tragedy ;  patient  as  Destiny,  whose 
lines  are  so  deeply  graven  on  your  sad  and  tragic  face.  Your  life  has  been  a 
lesson  and  an  inspiration  to  your  countrymen.  Your  prophesies  have  been 
fulfilled.  In  their  hands  and  not  in  yours  was  the  momentous  issue  of  civil  war. 
They  had  no  conflict  until  they  became,  themselves,  the  aggressors.  We  are 
not  enemies,  now,  but  friends.  "  The  mystic  chords  of  memory  stretching 
from  every  battlefield  and  soldier's  grave  to  every  heart  and  hearthstone 
throughout  this  broad  land,"  both  North  and  South,  have  long  since  swelled  the 
chorus  of  the  union,  when  again  touched,  as  you  said  they  would  be,  by  the  better 
angels  of  our  nature. 

I  think  the  most  beautiful  encomium  ever  paid  to  Abraham  Lincoln  was  that 
attributed  to  his  stormy  Secretary  of  War,  Edwin  M.  Stanton. 

Just  as  Stanton  was  about  to  leave  the  death  chamber  that  morning,  after 
the  President's  spirit  had  passed  into  the  Great  Beyond,  he  pointed  to  the  dead 
Lincoln  and  said :  "  There  lies  the  greatest  master  of  men  this  world  has  ever 
seen  since  the  time  of  the  Christ.    Now  he  belongs  to  the  ages." 

Abraham  Lincoln !  in  solemn  awe  I  pronounce  thy  name,  and  in  its  naked, 
deathless  splendor  leave  it  shining  on. 

HIS  ROSARY 
I  am  not  bound  to  win,  but  I  am 
bound  to  be  true.  I  am  not  bound 
to  succeed,  but  I  am  bound  to  live 
up  to  the  light  I  have.  I  must  stand 
with  anybody  that  stands  right — 
stand  with  him  while  he  is  right, 
and  part  with  him  when  he  goes 
wrong. 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


■■!'rifptmif9m'm^^m^m;if^^m^m^mmw;i^^^m^^^l^&m%i 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

973.7L63B2R33W  C001 

A  WONDERFUL  HOUR  WITH  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


3  0112  031795617 


